City Mayors: Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson Mayor of the Month for April 2014 Joe Anderson Mayor of Liverpool, UK Interviewed by Tann vom Hove 2 April 2014: Despite or, he would say, because of Liverpool’s glorious past, Mayor Joe Anderson never ceases to stress that the best days for the city lie ahead. His optimism won him an election, when in May 2012 he became the city’s first directly elected mayor. Joe Anderson is the type of larger-than-life city leader that the US used to produce in abundance and that still rule in some European cities. Born and bred in Liverpool and speaking with a soft Scouse accent, the mayor’s passion for his city is real and when he explains his hopes and dreams no one doubts his sincerity. • An interview with Mayor Anderson Joe Anderson, a member of the Labour Party, does not object to being called a socialist, but he represents a pragmatic kind of socialism - not Tony Blair’s New Labour and certainly not Militant Tendency, which caused havoc in Liverpool’s City Hall for a few years in the 1980s.

He is pro-business and pro-development and at the same time a vociferous champion of the weakest and poorest in his city. He does not hesitate to describe members of the UK’s conservative-led government as political parasites but also calls London’s Eton-educated Mayor Boris Johnson his mate and Tory grandee Lord Heseltine his friend. Financial sustainability This year, faced with substantial cuts in government grants, the Mayor’s most pressing task is to prevent a collapse of city services. In his March budget speech, he said that Liverpool City Council was facing its most difficult period in its long history. He called the cuts imposed on the city as “reductions imposed by a government made up of millionaire ministers far removed from reality, who are more interested in attacking the poorest and the weakest in society than looking for a fairer solution.” In a Roscoe Lecture, given last October at the Liverpool John Moores University, the Mayor said council and welfare cuts were equal to the loss of 76 per cent of the city’s manufacturing sector.

“By 2016, well over one billion pounds will have been sucked out of the city, which amounts to £1,032 for every person in Liverpool.” In the long-term, the Liverpool Mayor and the leaders of other large local authorities in the UK strive for more financially self-sufficient cities. Joe Anderson looks with some envy across the Atlantic and to Europe, where cities have greater freedom to raise taxes and spend them as they see fit. In an interview with City Mayors (see below), the Mayor said the current system for financing cities in England was in desperate need of reform. “At the moment, almost 90 per cent of our funding comes from the national Government, while 95 per cent of all tax raised in English cities leaves and is sent to the Treasury. This means we are much more dependent on central Government than big cities in other developed countries.” For Mayor Anderson sustainability is not just about the green agenda but also about “being financially solvent and not entirely reliant on government funding”.

“American mayors,” he said, “have the ability to innovate because they have the power and ability to raise substantial revenue.” Liverpool City Region Joe Anderson, who has been the elected Mayor of Liverpool for just under two years, has described his job as a stepping-stone to a bigger democratic mandate. With 66 per cent of people who work in Liverpool coming from neighbouring and further afield communities, the Mayor supports stronger ties between the local authorities that make up the Liverpool City Region. Last year, he even floated the idea of an elected Mayor for Merseyside. On 1 April 2014, the six authorities of the region - Liverpool, Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral - formed a combined authority responsible for economic development, transport and employment. But the Liverpool City Region’s first formal meeting was marred by a dispute over who should be the chairman of the new authority. Mayor Anderson as leader of by far the largest council of the authority naturally felt the job should be his. But instead four of the authority’s six members voted in the absence of the Liverpool Mayor to install the council leader of Wirral as chairman.

Joe Anderson described the meeting as clandestine and threatened to pull Liverpool out of the Liverpool City Region Authority. Clearly Merseyside is not yet ready to be led by Joe Anderson. Short biography Joe Anderson was born in 1958 in Liverpool and grew up in the working class district of Dingle, near the city centre. His parents, a merchant seaman and an office cleaner, together with six children lived in a tenement building. After leaving school at 16, Joe Anderson followed in his father’s footsteps and joined the Merchant Navy and later P&O Ferries. At 20 he was already a steward of the National Union of Seaman. In total, he spent the first 12 years of his working life at sea. In his 20s, Joe Anderson started to read widely and to “self-educate” himself before enrolling at Liverpool John Moores University where he studied for a degree in social work. Later he also studied Labour History at Liverpool University. The future Mayor of Liverpool began his political career in 1998, when he was elected city councillor for the Labour Party.

Three years later he became leader of the Labour group on the council and in 2010, after Labour replaced the Liberal Democrats as the largest party, Leader of Liverpool Council. In May 2012 he became the city’s first directly elected mayor, securing almost 60 per cent of the vote. Later that year, Joe Anderson was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for services to local government. Interview with Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson City Mayors: You’re a good example of a local boy made good. What persuaded you go into politics and ultimately aspire to become Liverpool’s first citizen? Mayor Anderson: I started as a trade union representative while working on ships. Seeing other parts of the world, including South Africa, opened my eyes to injustice and inequality and those experiences helped inform my view of the need to never rest in order to improve the lives of the people around us. In Liverpool, I wanted to be able to make real change happen, create jobs, build houses and new schools and that is still the reason I wake up every morning. City Mayors: In recent months, a number of British economists and politicians have expressed concern about the economic dominance of London.

Do you believe the UK capital drains other British cities off their most talented people and much needed investment? Mayor Anderson: I do. If you visit London it is clear there has been no recession. A recent report by the respected Centre for Cities found that nine out of 10 of private sector jobs created from 2010  2012 were in London. London and the South East are overheating and that is detrimental to the rest of the country. Liverpool needs more powers and control over its own resources in order to shape its own destiny. We have plenty of our own successes, which we could grow and develop but we need the ability to invest in them. City Mayors: It has been said that the 2008 economic crisis was largely caused by the financial sector in the City of London but that Britain’s second-tier cities, like Liverpool, were worse affected by the subsequent economic collapse and also recovered more slowly than London. What measures should be taken to strengthen the position of cities like Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester etc vis-as vis London? Mayor Anderson: I think that Liverpool was shielded from the worst of the recession because of the pace of regeneration in the run up to and since European Capital of Culture.

Around £1bn worth of development is currently taking place in our city, because we are seen as a viable market for investment. Developments such as the retail and leisure scheme Liverpool ONE and the Arena and Convention Centre were game changers in terms of supporting and creating jobs and levering in spending to the city region economy. But we still have high levels of unemployment in some areas of the city and business density is lower than other cities. What we need is more powers to be devolved from Westminster to allow us to make decisions locally. City Mayors: London and other large British cities have asked for greater financial freedom. For example, the cities have proposed to retain and control property tax revenues such as council tax, stamp duty and business rates. While such a fiscal reform would benefit London, would it really be in the interest of cities like Liverpool? And what impact would it have on Britain’s many smaller cities? Mayor Anderson: I would argue that politicians elected locally are always better placed to make decisions about the places they govern, rather than officials and politicians based hundreds of miles away. What is clear is that the current system for financing cities is in desperate need of reform and even the person who devised it agrees.

At the moment, almost 90 per cent of our funding comes from the national Government, while 95 per cent of all tax raised in English cities leaves and is sent to the Treasury. This means we are much more dependent on central Government than big cities in other developed countries. We are doing our best within the current system, but change is needed. City Mayors: Politically, you and most ministers in the current British Conservative-led government are probably miles apart. How well does your administration work with the various ministries in Whitehall? Mayor Anderson: Despite our political differences, we have a constructive relationship. Government recognises that I was elected by the people of the city and therefore I have a mandate to deliver on my pledges from residents. Clearly, I will speak up for Liverpool and make plain the impact that decisions they make 200 miles away have on the city and its people, and I think they respect that. We also agree that strong leadership and supporting economic growth is vital to the future of Liverpool and our ability to contribute to the strength of the UK economy. City Mayors: Liverpool and seven other large English cities form the Core Cities Group.

While the Group may have some influence in Whitehall, does it play a significant part in persuading national and international companies to consider investing in Britain’s second-tier cities? Mayor Anderson: The Core Cities are the eight biggest cities in England, outside of London. Some 16 million people live in Core City urban areas  one third of England’s entire population  and we don’t consider ourselves second-tier. We represent a huge marketplace and dynamic innovation in both the economy and local government. But the country does need to do a better job of balancing the economy, which is why projects like HS2 are important and closer working between cities. We talk to national and international investors every day and Core City areas, like the Liverpool City Region, are the best place for investment that will benefit the whole country. City Mayors: Since being elected London mayor and with the help of the 2012 Olympics, Boris Johnson has become a very effective spokesman for UK capital, nationally and internationally. Should you, as the directly elected mayor of the largest city outside London, not play a more prominent role in promoting Britain’s large and smaller cities at home and abroad?

Mayor Anderson: I think we have already achieved a lot since I became Mayor in 2012. While the vast majority of my time is spent in Liverpool working on behalf of the people who elected me, I am willing to go anywhere to promote Liverpool as a place to live, work and invest. But it is also important that we are focused on those relationships, which mean the most to our businesses and partners in the city. Places like Qatar, Boston and Shanghai are partners in our future, while important conferences like MIPIM in Cannes give us opportunities to promote the city. As a result, many of the trips I take are funded by local businesses because there is a direct link to the benefits for the city  for example, our Lord Mayor recently visited New York on the anniversary of the arrival of the Beatles, to promote the city’s tourism offering. City Mayors: Liverpool is probably the friendliest large city in the UK but the various bodies promoting the city fail to make the sociability of ordinary Liverpudlians a unique selling point. Are you neglecting your best asset? Mayor Anderson: I don’t think so.

Liverpool people are our biggest asset, and that is something that comes over consistently when visitors are asked what they love most about the city. But when promoting the city, it’s important that we promote the things that people can see, do and invest in when they are here. For example, visitors are hugely important to Liverpool City Region, spending £3.4 billion a year and supporting 46,000 jobs in the local economy. We were the 5th most popular UK destination for international visitors in 2011 and 8th most popular destination for domestic visitors, so our marketing strategy is clearly working. City Mayors: Liverpool ONE has been hailed as one the most successful retail developments in Britain. But has its success harmed other retail centres in the city? For the example, the neighbouring St John’s shopping centre looks tired and exhausted in comparison. Mayor Anderson: Liverpool ONE has helped the city preserve its place as the retail centre of a wide catchment area which covers the city region and even into Wales. The development has forced the rest of the city centre to raise its game and we have seen significant investment as a result.

People don’t just visit Liverpool ONE  the busiest streets are actually Church Street and Lord Street, outside of Liverpool ONE. Church Street has seen the arrival of major international retailers like Forever 21 and revamped River Island and Marks and Spencer stores. St John’s is undergoing a major refurbishment and we’re investing £2 million in the market. Other nearby locations are being either revamped, like Clayton Square, or developed for the first time, such as the Central Village leisure and retail. So there has clearly been a ripple effect. City Mayors: Is Liverpool concentrating too much on developing its centre and waterfront and thereby neglecting other parts of the city? While high streets like Allerton Road boast a large variety of retail outlets, they could be more attractive and shopper friendly. Mayor Anderson: The city centre is the front door of Liverpool, and it is important we get that right. But I have made it a priority to make sure that other areas also get investment, and become an attractive place in their own right.

The new Edge Lane Retail Park which is on one of the main gateways into the city will create 4,000 jobs and we’re pushing ahead with plans for new housing, retail and business space in areas such as Anfield and Norris Green. Some district centres also need help to preserve their character with a more balanced economy, for example by making sure they don’t become reliant on the night time economy by having too many bars and pubs. Finally, new transport schemes such as our growing car club and a new cycle-hire scheme are looking to spread across the city, creating new connections between all our communities. City Mayors: UNESCO has warned that Liverpool might lose its World Heritage status if the Liverpool Waters development goes ahead as planned. Are you concerned? Mayor Anderson: We are rightly proud of our position as a World Heritage City. It reflects our outstanding heritage, historical and cultural offer, our magnificent waterfront and our fantastic architecture, which are enjoyed by millions of people from all over the world. It’s important that we maximise the benefits of this title  one that only an elite few hold  to further boost tourism, drive our economy and raise our international profile.

I strongly believe that it’s not a question of choosing either heritage or development  by getting the balance right, we can ensure the two can exist in tandem. And it’s not just Liverpool that’s being scrutinized by UNESCO  London is in a similar position. City Mayors: Questions have been asked, notably by the Financial Times, about Chinese involvement in developing the Liverpool / Wirral waterfront. Do you believe Sam Wa Resources and its chairman Stella Shiu are still suitable partners for the project? Mayor Anderson: That is entirely a matter for Peel - they are a private company. What matters to me is making sure they deliver on their plans for Liverpool Waters. If you look at the company they have an incredible track record, whether it’s Media City in Salford, or their plans for the Manchester Ship Canal and the huge expansion of the Super Port. City Mayors: Britain’s proposed high-speed rail line HS2, which will link London with Birmingham and eventually Manchester and Leeds, will by-pass Liverpool. Will the exclusion of Liverpool negatively affect developments like Liverpool Waters or the planned container and cruise liner port? Mayor Anderson: We need a mature discussion about how cities benefit from investments like HS2.

There is no doubt in my mind that Liverpool will benefit from HS2, with journey times to and from London reduced by 25 percent, but also significant capacity opened up for freight from the port. We are strongly making the case to Government, with the support of the private sector for a spur to reach Liverpool, to connect our people and businesses with London and give us extra freight capacity to link in with the developed Super Port. City Mayors: A few months after a scheme to re-introduce trams to Liverpool was scrapped, you decided to suspend dedicated bus lanes in the city. How do you now propose to persuade people to switch from private to public transport? Mayor Anderson: In terms of the bus lanes  there hasn’t been a review of them for over 20 years and the city has changed beyond recognition in those years. I felt it was important to take a fresh look at how we reduce congestion and help people get in and out of our modern city  using solutions specific to our needs.

We are currently conducting a trial and I will let the steering group advise me of their findings, but it is important to stay flexible to the changing use of transport  for example, use of buses in the city has been declining and there has been a huge growth in local rail travel. I believe the bus companies need to offer more competitive fares and improve the quality of their fleet, and we are working with them to look at how this can be achieved, as well as introducing cheaper fares. The tram was not a council scheme and was killed off several years ago when the previous government withdrew funding. City Mayors: You initially contributed towards the development of programmes for Liverpool, European Capital of Culture in 2008 but resigned from the Liverpool Culture Company because you believed the planned events were “too elitist”. Would you say, with hindsight, you were wrong and acknowledge that Liverpool’s cultural scene has seen a dramatic resurgence since 2008? Mayor Anderson: I was always a hugely passionate advocate of Liverpool’s year as European Capital of Culture. My issue was with the management in the run up to the year.

The year was a success thanks to the work of many different organisations and their resurgence is a result of the continued partnership between each other and the City, because of how important culture is to the city’s economy. We haven’t stopped building on 2008’s programme, for example we brought street theatre company Royal De Luxe to the city in 2012 which attracted one million people on to the streets, and we will be doing something similar again in July this year when we hold the official commemoration of the centenary of the start of World War One. We have also developed the popular Mathew Street Music Festival into the even-more popular Liverpool International Music Festival; have developed a programme of major events on our waterfront and continue to support our major cultural institutions including the Everyman and Playhouse Theatres and the Philharmonic Orchestra. City Mayors: Unlike many of Britain’s leading football clubs, including Liverpool FC, Everton FC still boasts Liverpool and UK owners. Do you think the bond between football and local communities is weakened when clubs are taken over by overseas investors? Mayor Anderson: It is not for me to get involved in the ownership of a private sector company.

However, I do believe you can have good or bad owners regardless of whether they are based here or overseas. There is no doubt in my mind that in the case of LFC, current owners Fenway Sports are hugely committed to developing not just a successful club, but also contributing positively to the regeneration of the area. We have formed a strong partnership with them which is already delivering huge improvements in terms of housing after many years of inaction. City Mayors: It has been said that there is no greater rivalry between two British cities than that that exists between Liverpool and Manchester. The Globalization and World Cities project of Loughborough University has classified Manchester as an important world city, while Liverpool is described as a regional city. How does the rivalry, if it still exists, affect the co-operation between the two cities, which lie after all only 50 kilometers apart? Mayor Anderson: The rivalry is a bit overblown and is largely football related. The international dimension is important. Liverpool is famous across the world and a natural host for the International Festival of Business in June and July this year  but many of the events will be held in Manchester as well.

To many across the world our cities are close enough that we can use the strengths of both to draw in new investment and economic opportunities. We recently shared a stage at MIPIM, where we made the case for more Government investment in transport infrastructure like HS2. But as you would expect, my main focus is on what’s best for Liverpool and delivering on my pledges for the people of the city. City Mayors: New York City’s most famous mayor, Fiorello La Guardia, once said: "A mayor who cannot look fifty or seventy-five years ahead is not worthy of being in City Hall." How do you see the future of Liverpool? Mayor Anderson: Liverpool is my home and the only place I’ve ever lived. Moreover, it is the place where my children and grandchildren live so I am hugely ambitious for it. One of my mantras is that the city’s best years lie ahead. I truly believe that the city has a really bright future. We are a city that is known the world over, have a tremendous natural asset in the River Mersey, a billion pounds worth of regeneration on the ground and in the pipeline, good transport links, fantastic architecture, great universities and wonderful people.

We’re re-establishing ourselves as a cruise destination, trade through the port is at record levels and we’ve got planning permission for Liverpool Waters, which will transform the derelict docklands. Our economy also includes some of the newest industries in existence with a large bio-manufacturing cluster. I could go on and on. We’ve got an awful lot to be positive about. Joe Anderson elected Liverpool's Mayor on first ballot - BBC News BBC News Joe Anderson elected Liverpool's Mayor on first ballot 4 May 2012 Media captionJoe Anderson said Liverpool need new houses, jobs and schools Labour's Joe Anderson has become Liverpool's first directly-elected mayor with 58,458 votes. He gained more than the 50% of the votes needed on the first ballot. Overall turnout was 30.8%. His nearest rival, former BBC journalist Liam Fogarty, came second with 8,292 votes. The people of this city need new houses, they need jobs and they need new schools Joe Anderson, Mayor of Liverpool Mr Anderson announced that he had appointed rivals as key advisors, setting out areas he wanted to work in.

He has appointed Sir Ian Gilmore to chair a commission into health, former Labour Education Secretary Estelle Morris will chair an education commission, and ex-Liberal Democrat Paul Clein will also sit on the panel. Mr Fogarty will take a position on the board of the council IT joint venture with BT Liverpool Direct Limited. Former deputy council leader and Liberal Democrat councillor Flo Clucas will advise on European affairs. As leader of the ruling Labour group it was Mr Anderson's initiative to skip a mayoral referendum and go ahead with a direct election for a mayor. Mr Fogarty, who stood as an independent, had been a leading campaigner for an elected mayor in the city. Mr Anderson said: "The people of Liverpool have spoken decisively in favour of the Labour party. "They have rejected the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats in this city, and have given me their trust, and the Labour party their trust. "We will deliver on our pledges and our promises. "The people of this city need new houses, they need jobs and they need new schools. "This is what will be delivered by an administration with a Labour mayor.

"The future of this city is a bright one." 'A coronation' Richard Kemp, who stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate, came third in the poll with just over 6% of the vote. The city's Liberal Democrat party have been critical of the move to an elected mayor without a referendum. Mr Kemp said: "The promise was that because there was a mayoral contest there would be a big turnout. "In fact the turnout in Liverpool is a lot less than last year. Already it is falling at the first fence." University of Liverpool professor of politics Jon Tonge said Mr Anderson's gaining of almost 60% of the vote meant "it wasn't a count, it was a coronation". · All the latest election results are available at bbc.co.uk/vote2012 * Second preference votes are only used to elect the mayor if no single candidate receives more than 50% of first preferences. Labour's Joe Anderson elected Liverpool mayor | Politics | The Guardian Mayoral elections Labour's Joe Anderson elected Liverpool mayor City chooses council leader as its first directly elected mayor, with independent candidate beating Lib Dem to second place Liverpool's first directly elected mayor, Joe Anderson.

Photograph: Peter Byrne/PA Friday 4 May 2012 08.49 EDT First published on Friday 4 May 2012 08.49 EDT Close This article is 4 years old Liverpool has voted in its first directly elected mayor, with Labour's former council leader Joe Anderson winning by a comfortable margin. To loud cheers from the party faithful, the Labour candidate was declared mayor just after 4am at the Liverpool Tennis Centre in Wavertree, after taking almost 60% of the vote. Independent Liam Fogarty came second with 8,292 votes, leaving the Liberal Democrat candidate, Richard Kemp – who was first elected to Liverpool council in 1975 and was confident of gaining the runner-up spot – in third place with 6,238 votes. The Conservative Tony Caldeira came seventh. . The turnout was just 31.7%, with 101,301 Liverpool residents voting in the mayoral election. Of them 58,448 opted for Anderson, giving him 57.7% of the vote.

Anderson will be one of the most important political figures outside the capital after negotiating a deal with the government to switch to a mayoral system as one of the conditions for Liverpool receiving an additional £130m in grants. Against a backdrop of jeers from far-right National Front supporters – who had caused disturbances at the count throughout the night – Anderson promised he would stick to his pledges to create 20,000 jobs, 5,000 homes and 12 new schools during his four-year term. "The people of Liverpool have spoken democratically," he added. "They have rejected the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. They have given their trust to the Labour party." Addressing supporters of the far right, he added: "The future of this city is a bright one, it is not represented by fascists … The people of this city have told them at the ballot box to get stuffed." The result marks a clear political shift in the political makeup of the city, with Tony Mulhearn, who along with Derek Hatton led the city's resistance to Margaret Thatcher, getting less than 5% of the vote. In an interview with the Guardian on Thursday, Anderson stressed how he aimed to bring more private investment into Liverpool.

"It is quite clear that government funding is never going to be the same again," he said. "Liverpool is taking charge of its own destiny." Anderson's salary will be determined by an independent panel and voted on by Liverpool council later in the month. A byelection for his Riverside ward seat, which he has to vacate on becoming mayor, will be held in the summer. The ballots for the council elections, to be counted on Friday afternoon, could see the city council dominated by Labour and the near extinction of the Liberal Democrats, who ran the council for 11 years until two years ago. Labour could end up holding 80% of council seats. The party holds 63 of 90 seats, with the Lib Dems on 19, Liberal on three, Green two, independents holding two and one standing vacant. Further Lib Dem seats are expected to fall. Paula Keaveney, the local Liberal Democrat leader, could lose her Cressington seat, although Lib Dems said they were confident it would be held.

Liverpool result in full: Joe Anderson (Lab) 58,448 (59.33%) Liam Fogarty (Ind) 8,292 (8.42%) Richard Kemp (LD) 6,238 (6.33%) John Coyne (Green) 5,175 (5.25%) Tony Mulhearn (TUSC) 4,792 (4.86%) Steve Radford (Lib) 4,442 (4.51%) Tony Caldeira (C) 4,425 (4.49%) Adam Heatherington (Ukip) 2,352 (2.39%) Paul Rimmer (Eng Dem) 1,400 (1.42%) Jeff Berman (Liverpool Ind) 1,362 (1.38%) Mike Whitby (BNP) 1,015 (1.03%) Peter Tierney (NF) 566 (0.57%) Joe Anderson, Liverpool mayor: ‘It’s not about big hitters, like Andy Burnham’ | Susanna Rustin | Society | The Guardian

 Interview Joe Anderson, Liverpool mayor: ‘It’s not about big hitters, like Andy Burnham’ Joe Anderson, Liverpool’s elected city mayor, on his credentials to head up the devolved region, and why local leaders don’t get the recognition they deserve Joe Anderson, elected mayor of Liverpool.

Photograph: Christopher Thomond/Guardian Wednesday 1 June 2016 01.00 EDT Last modified on Wednesday 1 June 2016 01.22 EDT Share on Messenger Close There is no doubt Joe Anderson will be mayor of Liverpool a year from now. The question is: which one? A few weeks ago he was re-elected for a second term as the city’s mayor (one of 17 directly elected mayors including London and Bristol). In less than 12 months, however, he hopes to see his name on ballot papers once again. Anderson, who is 58, wants to be the first directly elected mayor of the newly devolved Liverpool region – the five Merseyside boroughs plus Halton in Cheshire. So far the contest to lead this combined authority, with a population of around 1.5 million, has yet to attract anyone with the national reputation of the shadow home secretary, Andy Burnham, who wants the equivalent job in Manchester . But Anderson, a former merchant seaman and trade unionist who threw his hat into the ring in a speech at Bootle’s Port Academy on Friday, already has a fight on his hands to be Labour’s nominee.

Burnham saying a mayor needs cabinet-level experience is disrespectful to local government leaders Local MP Steve Rotheram is standing, as too is shadow minister Luciana Berger . “ City MP challenges old pal Joe ” was the headline in the Liverpool Echo when Rotheram declared, but Anderson claims to be relaxed about this – as he is about what happens to the post of city mayor once the regional mayor is elected (though he definitely won’t attempt both at once). “I promoted Steve Rotheram to the cabinet when I was council leader and made him lord mayor,” says Anderson. Speaking before Berger announced her decision to stand, he says he would welcome her entry to the race “as a woman”. “They feel they’ve got something to offer and it’s not for me to say they haven’t. It’s up to them and their consciences.” Anderson was re-elected city mayor with almost 53% of the vote (down 6% from 2012 but still, he tells me twice, a “thumping majority”).

Perhaps it is this resounding victory, or the blue sky outside of the city’s most spectacular offices in the Cunard building overlooking the Mersey, that explains why the mayor is surprisingly upbeat given his prediction that 2017 is the year Liverpool falls into “the abyss” created by waves of cuts. He has described the city already riven with cuts as a “northern slaughterhouse”. There are potholes in the roads, the parks aren’t as tidy or the streets as clean as he would like them to be. People have become blase: the council has cut so deeply already – £340m, or 58% of it budget since 2010 (a figure that doesn’t include ringfenced spending on schools and housing benefit) – that finding massive savings and shedding jobs has become the new normal, he says.

“I’ve got to cut £90m in the next three years, that’s £30m a year.” Andy Burnham bids to be Labour's candidate for Manchester mayor Read more But Anderson, who grew up in a tenement block less than a mile away as one of six children, and now lives with his wife Margaret, a care assistant, in a terrace house in the Old Swan area of Liverpool, accepts the city was too dependent on central government. He is proud of the way he has made cuts: 3,000 council jobs lost, but also 15 new schools, new jobs created and homes built so that the city’s council tax base has grown, as it desperately needs to. There is irony in the fact that Anderson’s bid for mayor will be based on this record of gains chiselled out of the cliff of austerity. He’s also successfully swelled the ranks of Labour councillors, and drawn up a regional development plan focused on house-building (deposit-free starter-homes are one project), car factories and the port he calls the northern powerhouse’s “front door”. That Liverpool has a directly elected mayor at all is an oddity.

In 2012 the city council followed Leicester by imposing one without a referendum, in the same year that voters in many cities voted against elected mayors (with Bristol the exception). Since then, a good deal of the wrangling over devolution has focused on elected mayors, with the government making them a condition for handing down the new powers and budgets councils seek. But if Anderson is a pioneer of localism, he can also be seen to personify the problems with mayoral politics. Liberal Democrat opposition group leader, Richard Kemp – runner-up in the mayoral race – calls him an “emperor surrounded by courtiers” and fears that the “testosterone-fuelled model” of his mayoralty will be repeated at city-region level. Green group leader, Tom Crone, complains of a “democratic deficit” following the abolition of a scrutiny committee and highlights a court case funded by the council against a school where Anderson used to work . Kemp blames Anderson’s poor relationships with the other Merseyside councils for the weak devolution deal agreed last year, when the government rejected demands to fund a new opera house. Anderson admits that after making the first city deal in 2012, Liverpool has struggled to keep up.

He claims to gain “a great deal of satisfaction” from the fact that shadow ministers are sniffing around the northern powerhouse’s top jobs, but was incensed by Burnham’s suggestion that he and old friends such as Manchester’s Sir Richard Leese lack the right experience. He says Burnham’s remark that the Manchester mayor is “a cabinet-level job, which needs cabinet-level experience”, was the “most ignorant and insensitive comment anybody could actually make because it is disrespectful to every local government leader who has worked hard for their area”. “Andy Burnham went on to say we failed to put big hitters into Scotland,” he adds. “Well I’m sorry, what we failed to do was set out a vision for Scotland. It’s not about big hitters.” Why I love Liverpool – by mayor Joe Anderson Read more Anderson is proud of his loyalty to the city, where he was once an altar boy, to Everton football club, and to his family. He is also proud that critics have called him “too powerful and too charismatic” – though he admits a tendency to micro-manage could be counted a fault.

He blames the Labour party for its reluctance to trust people like him to run the north of England: “Let me say to Andy Burnham and other shadow cabinet members whether they’re standing or not: a Labour government should have pushed on this agenda of devolution and it’s a sad reflection on Labour that we’re having to do business with a Tory government that is bludgeoning us,” states Anderson. He is critical too of national media for what he sees as a lack of attention to the north and its elected leaders, himself included. As a young party member in the 1980s, he was sympathetic to some of the aims of the city’s militant politicians, and contrasts their profile with his own: “If you look back at Derek Hatton who was deputy leader of Liverpool, he got on to Question Time because he was a controversial figure. I’ve written a few columns and blog and letters but I’ve never been on Question Time.” Anderson believes the north-south divide begins with the Westminster bubble. “You couldn’t have coined a better phrase,” he says. One of his reasons for supporting localism is “because Whitehall mandarins don’t even know what Liverpool looks like,” he says.

(He thinks the classic sitcom Yes, Minister is a broadly accurate.) He believes that social media, and his 23,000 following on Twitter, provide a more accurate reflection of his profile and influence. He concludes: “As a local government leader who has delivered what I believe to be a socialist agenda, in terms of transforming the lives of people despite tremendous cuts – cuts we have never faced as a city even after the second world war – I don’t believe the role gets the recognition it deserves.” Curriculum vitae Joe Anderson , Politician • Biography & Facts Joe Anderson Politician Joseph 'Joe' Anderson OBE (born 24 June 1958) is a British Labour Party politician who is the first directly elected mayor of Liverpool, having been elected with 57% of the vote on 3 May 2012. He previously served as leader of Liverpool City Council from the 2010 Council election until the 2012 Mayoral election. He is the first Labour Leader of the Council since 1998, the same year he was first elected as a Councillor. He is also on the board of directors at Liverpool Vision, an Economic Development Company within the city.

Anderson represents Liverpool City Council as a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Liverpool mayoral election: Joe Anderson wins second term - BBC News BBC News Liverpool mayoral election: Joe Anderson wins second term 6 May 2016 From the section Election 2016 Related Topics Image caption Joe Anderson won the mayoral vote on the first ballot Labour's Joe Anderson has won a second term as Liverpool Mayor. Mr Anderson, who became the city's first elected mayor in 2012, won again comfortably taking 53% of the vote. Labour also retained control of Liverpool City Council but ceded two seats to the Liberal Democrats. Sefton, St Helens, Knowsley and Wirral also stayed under Labour control, as did Halton in Cheshire. The result of Merseyside's Police and Crime Commissioner election is due later. Mr Anderson became leader of the Labour group on Liverpool City Council in 2003, and headed the council when the party regained control in May 2010. He then campaigned for the cabinet system of city government to be replaced by a directly-elected mayor. Mr Anderson said he hoped to make the city more self-sufficient in his second term.

"My vision is that we are sustainable in the future and not relying and dependent on government funding and we're able to look after ourselves." Joe Anderson (Labour) elected 2.65 BBC News App users: tap here to see the results. In Knowsley, the Liberal Democrats took three seats from Labour in Prescot North, with Labour losing three seats to Independent candidates and one to the Conservatives in Sefton. The new make-up of Knowsley Council sees Labour holding 42 of the 45 seats, with the three remaining seats held by the Liberal Democrats. One of the new Lib Dem councillors in Prescot North, Carl Cashman, told BBC Radio Merseyside: "We're a real minority but this is the start. "What people have got now is they've got a voice. "One thing people told me is you're not just standing up for Prescot, you're standing up for Knowsley," he said. Analysis Claire Hamilton, Political Reporter BBC Radio Merseyside There aren't many surprises in local politics on Merseyside these days - but today's local elections contained at least one shocker: The Liberal Democrats won three seats in Knowsley.

Since 2012, Labour's been the only party on the council. Now, the three newly elected councillors representing Prescot North will be the opposition. The ward was created as a result of boundary changes, which saw the number of councillors cut from 63 to 45. Local campaign group First for Kirkby were just a couple of hundred votes shy of victory in Whitefield ward. Labour still holds 39 of the 66 seats on Wirral Council. Of the 23 up for grabs on Thursday, 14 were won by Labour with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats seven and two respectively. Phil Davies, leader of Wirral Council, said: "We were defending a number of really difficult contests tonight. "We maintain our majority of 12 seats on the council and I think it's a vote of confidence for the job we've done for the people of Wirral." Joe Anderson is first elected Liverpool Mayor after runaway vote success - Liverpool Echo News Joe Anderson is first elected Liverpool Mayor after runaway vote success LIVERPOOL Labour leader Joe Anderson has become the city's first ever elected mayor, clinching a decisive victory with 57% of the vote (58,448).

Share Joe Anderson celebrates after becoming the first elected Liverpool Mayor Share Get daily updates directly to your inbox + Subscribe Thank you for subscribing! Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email JOE ANDERSON is today Liverpool’s first elected mayor after enjoying a decisive victory with 57% of votes in the historic poll. He was declared the winner at 4.10am at the Liverpool Tennis Centre in Wavertree, polling 58,450 votes amid jubilant scenes from Labour supporters. Mr Anderson will govern Liverpool for the next four years and is now the most powerful politician in England outside London. In total 101,301 voted in the mayor’s election, a turnout of just 31.2%. Independent Liam Fogarty grabbed second with 8,292 votes, while Liberal Democrat Richard Kemp came in third with 6,238. Mayor Anderson said: “I promise that our message to you is that we will deliver on our pledges and promises. The people of this city need new housing, new jobs and new schools.

That is what will be delivered by an administration with a Labour mayor.” Changing the city’s electoral system has represented the biggest gamble in the political career of Mr Anderson, who has been council leader for the past two years. Ditching the role of council leader and having a mayor instead was linked to the government’s city deal, which will see an additional £130m handed to Liverpool. Mayor Anderson ran a campaign built around the deal that had three key promises: to deliver 5,000 new homes, 20,000 new jobs and 12 new schools during his four-year term. The salary for the new mayor will be set by an independent panel and will be voted on by Liverpool council later in the month. Mayor Anderson was forced to deliver his victory speech over loud heckling and chants from a handful of far right activists. But he declared: “The future of this city is a bright one. It is not represented by fascists, they are people that do not represent this city. We will democratically defeat these fascists at the ballot box every time.

That’s why they shout loudly now because people in this city have told them loud and clear to get stuffed.” His victory triggers a summer by-election in his Riverside ward seat, which he has to vacate on becoming mayor. Mr Fogarty said he was humbled to score second place out of the dozen candidates. He said: “It’s been an exciting, satisfying and humbling experience. When you are up against some very well established parties with the organisation, resources and boots on the ground it’s always going to be a scrappy outsiders campaign. “I am really pleased for the people who have taken part in it for me, that have made it happen, the people that have put out the leaflets and used social media for my campaign. I have emerged with a new respect for people who do this for a living.” Lib Dem Cllr Kemp said:” I always made clear this was going to be a tough election for us, especially with national circumstances. “My job was to maximise the Liberal Democrat vote, and I think I have done that.” He said he was hopeful the party would have done enough to hang on to the council seat of Lib Dem leader Paula Keaveney. Local election results will be counted later today.

Green candidate John Coyne came fourth with 5,175, and just saved his £500 deposit by polling at least 5%. Tony Mulhearn (Trade Union and Socialist Coalition) recorded 4,792 votes, and Liberal Steve Radford polled 4,442. Both were ahead of Conservative candidate Tony Caldeira who polled 4,425. Mr Mulhearn said: “Joe Anderson’s policies now reflect the interest of traditional Tory and Lib Dem voters. There has been a small proportion looking at my vote as the radical alternative, which at this stage some people will not see as a viable alternative.” Mr Caldeira said: “I am sure the city will all work together to continue the progress we have made over the past few years.” Steve Radford said: “We have had a phenomenal majority in both counts in Tuebrook.

Without doubt we areclearly becoming the second party in the city.” Paul Rimmer for the English Democrats got 1,400, independent Jeff Berman polled 1,362, BNP candidate Mike Whitby recorded 1,015, and Peter Quiggins for the National Front was rock bottom with just 566 votes, or 0.5%. There were 2,794 spoiled ballot papers.The far right BNP and National Front finished in the bottom two. FULL RESULTS Labour’s Joe Anderson re-elected as Liverpool Mayor > Labour’s Joe Anderson re-elected as Liverpool Mayor Labour’s Joe Anderson re-elected as Liverpool Mayor Posted by Mark Langshaw in Latest News , Lifestyle News , Liverpool Life May, 06 2016 No Comments Joe Anderson has been re-elected as Liverpool Mayor following a comfortable victory at the mayoral election on 6 May. The Labour MP secured 53% of the vote to see off his closest rival, Richard Kemp of the Liberal Democrats, by a significant margin. Richard attracted 21% of the total votes, with Green Party candidate Tom Crone taking third place with 11%.

Conservative hopeful Tony Caldeira ended up with less than 4% of the total votes. Mayor Anderson became leader of Liverpool City Council’s Labour group in 2003 and headed up the local authority when his party gained control in May 2010. He has since campaigned for the cabinet system of city government to be replaced by a directly-elected mayor, and aims to make Liverpool more self-sufficient during his second term. Ahead of the 2016 Liverpool mayoral election, Mayor Anderson pledged to launch a bid to bring the Commonwealth Games to Liverpool and build new sustainable homes in the city. With a second term as mayor now secured, the 58-year-old is expected to campaign to become Metro Mayor of the wider Liverpool City Region in 2017. 2 Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson to take £66,000 salary - BBC News BBC News Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson to take £66,000 salary 23 May 2012 Close share panel Image caption Joe Anderson is the city's first directly elected mayor Councillors in Liverpool have set a salary of nearly £80,000 a year for newly elected mayor Joe Anderson.

But Mr Anderson will only take £66,000 - he was previously paid £52,000 as leader of the council. His first full council meeting as mayor backed the £79,500 figure set by an independent panel. There is no national salary for directly elected mayors. Labour mayor Mr Anderson also kept the nine-member cabinet he had as Labour council leader. The suggestion that Mr Anderson be paid £79,500 was made by an independent panel, made up of six people not connected to the council, based on the responsibilities of the new post. 'Visible leadership' Chairman of the independent panel David James said there were big differences between Mr Anderson's role as leader of Liverpool City Council and the new one as directly elected mayor. He said: "It brings with it... more responsibility because the new mayor has been elected by the whole of the city. "This gives him a mandate to speak for the entire city, not just at home but also abroad. "This brings with it a duty to deliver strong, visible leadership and be an ambassador for Liverpool. "We have also noted that the mayor of Liverpool has new powers and responsibilities negotiated as part of the City Deal.

"This makes it the second most powerful post behind that of the mayor of London and sets it apart from other directly elected mayors in England." The council's annual general meeting, which is the first since the city elected a mayor, took place at the town hall. During the meeting the new Lord Mayor, Sharon Sullivan, was also sworn in. Anderson elected Liverpool mayor | News | EN for Business Home Anderson elected Liverpool mayor Liverpool council leader and Labour candidate Joe Anderson has become the city's first directly elected mayor, winning 59 per cent of the vote. Anderson, who led the council when it voted to skip a public referendum on electing a mayor, strolled to victory with 58,448 votes. Second place went to independent candidate and former BBC journalist Liam Fogarty, who received 8,292 votes. Entrepreneur Tony Caldeira, who was standing as the Conservative candidate, polled 4,425 leaving him in seventh place. Overall turnout was just 31.7 per cent. Liverpool's move to elect a mayor will unlock a "City Deal" negotiated with the Government that will establish a single investment programme of public and private funds worth £130 million.

This could potentially grow to between £500 million and £1bn. The deal will also create the first Mayor Development Corporation outside of London. The mayor will serve a four-year term and will select a cabinet from the city's 90 councillors. In a statement, Anderson said: "This is a hugely exciting and momentous moment for our city. "I will work to make Liverpool a globally recognised city that unlocks the potential of its most enterprising." As mayor, Anderson has pledged to build 12 new schools, create 20,000 jobs and deliver 50,000 new homes. He also vowed to "transform Liverpool into one of the most business and enterprise-friendly cities in the UK". By Andy Jowett

Question: Joe Anderson became the first directly elected Mayor of which city in May this year?
Answer: LIVERPOOL